2026 Northern Ireland Open

2026 BetVictor Northern Ireland Open

Part of the Home Nations Series
Tournament information
Dates	18–25 October 2026 (2026-10-18 – 2026-10-25)
Venue	Waterfront Hall
City	Belfast
Country	Northern Ireland
Organisation	World Snooker Tour
Format	Ranking event
Total prize fund	£550,400
Winner's share	£100,000
Defending champion	Jack Lisowski  (ENG)
← 2025

The 2026 Northern Ireland Open (officially the 2026 BetVictor Northern Ireland Open) is a professional snooker tournament that is taking place from 18 to 25 October 2026 at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Qualifying took place from 13 to 16 September at the Leicester Arena in Leicester, England. The 11th consecutive edition of the tournament since it was first staged in 2016, it is the seventh ranking event of the 2026–27 snooker season, following the 2026 Shenzhen Open and preceding the 2026 International Championship. It is the second of four tournaments in the season's Home Nations Series, following the 2026 English Open and preceding the 2026 Scottish Open and the 2027 Welsh Open.

Jack Lisowski is the defending champion, having defeated Judd Trump 9–8 in the 2025 final.

Overview

The tournament is being held at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The Northern Ireland Open was first staged in 2016 at the Titanic Exhibition Centre in Belfast, Northern Ireland. ^[1] The inaugural winner was Mark King, who defeated Barry Hawkins 9–8 in the final to win his maiden ranking title. ^[2] The tournament winner receives the Alex Higgins Trophy, named in honour of the two-time World Champion, who died in 2010. ^[3] At the inaugural edition of the tournament, the trophy was presented by Higgins's daughter Lauren. ^[2]

The 2026 edition of the tournament—the 11th consecutive staging of the event—is taking place from 18 to 25 October at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast. ^[4] Qualifying took place from 13 to 16 September at the Leicester Arena in Leicester, England. ^[5] Sponsored by BetVictor, ^[6] it is the seventh ranking event of the 2026–27 snooker season, following the 2026 Shenzhen Open and preceding the 2026 UK Championship. ^[7] It is also the second of four tournaments in the season's Home Nations Series, following the 2026 English Open and preceding the 2026 Scottish Open and the 2027 Welsh Open. ^[8] Jack Lisowski is the defending champion, having defeated Judd Trump 9–8 in the 2025 final. ^{[9] [10]}

Format

The tournament uses a tiered format first implemented for the Home Nations Series in the 2024–25 snooker season. In round one, players seeded 65–96 faced those seeded 97 and below, including selected amateurs. In round two, the winners from round one faced players seeded 33–64. The winners from round two face the top 32 seeds. ^[11] All matches are played as the best of 7 frames until the quarter‑finals, which are the best of 9. The semi‑finals are the best of 11, and the final is a best‑of‑17-frame match played over two sessions . ^[12]

Prize fund

The prize fund for the tournament is detailed below. ^[13]

• Winner: £100,000
• Runner-up: £45,000
• Semi-final: £21,000
• Quarter-final: £13,200
• Last 16: £9,000
• Last 32: £5,400
• Last 64: £3,600
• Last 96: £1,000

• Highest break: £5,000
• Total: £550,400

Summary

Qualifying

Liam Pullen whitewashed Paul Norris, Yao Pengcheng beat Bai Yulu 4–1, Oliver Sykes whitewashed Alexander Ursenbacher, and Cheung Ka Wai defeated Artemijs Žižins 4–3. ^[14]

Aaron Hill defeated Ross Muir 4–3, Xu Si beat Jimmy White 4–2, Liam Davies beat Fan Zhengyi 4–1, Ben Mertens whitewashed Iulian Boiko, Mateusz Baranowski beat Yuan Sijun 4–1, and Wang Xinbo beat David Lilley, also by 4–1. ^[15]

Sykes defeated Zak Surety 4–3, Jordan Brown whitewashed Julien Leclercq, Luca Brecel beat Mitchell Mann 4–1, Yao whitewashed Stan Moody, Liam Highfield beat Jiang Jun, 4–1, Pullen whitewashed Ben Woollaston, and Cheung defeated Oliver Lines 4–3. ^[16]

Last 64

Wu Yize and He Guoqiang withdrew and so Scott Donaldson and Elliot Slessor were given walkovers to the last 32, respectively. ^[17]

Main draw

The draw for the tournament is shown below. Numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the players' seeding, and players in bold denote match winners. ^{[12] [18]}

Top half

Last 64 Best of 7 frames

Last 32 Best of 7 frames

Last 16 Best of 7 frames

Quarter-finals Best of 9 frames

Semi-finals Best of 11 frames

Jack Lisowski  (ENG)(1)

4

Huang Jiahao  (CHN)(110)

1

Jack Lisowski (1)

Anthony McGill (38)

Stephen Maguire  (SCO)(31)

1

Anthony McGill  (SCO)(38)

4

Si Jiahui  (CHN)(16)

2

Wang Xinbo  (CHN)(104)

4

Wang Xinbo (104)

Mateusz Baranowski (84)

Gary Wilson  (ENG)(24)

3

Mateusz Baranowski  (POL)(84)

4

Thepchaiya Un-Nooh  (THA)(20)

4

Aaron Hill  (IRL)(37)

2

Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (20)

Kyren Wilson (9)

Kyren Wilson  (ENG)(9)

4

Ben Mertens  (BEL)(59)

0

Pang Junxu  (CHN)(26)

4

Alfie Burden  (ENG)(98)

2

Pang Junxu (26)

Liam Davies (89)

Shaun Murphy  (ENG)(8)

2

Liam Davies  (WAL)(89)

4

Mark Selby  (ENG)(5)

2

Louis Heathcote  (ENG)(66)

4

Louis Heathcote (66)

Matthew Selt (46)

Hossein Vafaei  (IRN)(27)

3

Matthew Selt  (ENG)(46)

4

Xiao Guodong  (CHN)(12)

3

Sam Craigie  (ENG)(70)

4

Sam Craigie (70)

Xu Si (36)

Ali Carter  (ENG)(23)

0

Xu Si  (CHN)(36)

4

Elliot Slessor  (ENG)(22)

w/o

He Guoqiang  (CHN)(43) [a]

w/d

Elliot Slessor (22)

Jamie Jones (60)

Chris Wakelin  (ENG)(13)

1

Jamie Jones  (WAL)(60)

4

Joe O'Connor  (ENG)(29)

4

Matthew Stevens  (WAL)(48)

1

Joe O'Connor (29)

Ricky Walden (56)

Neil Robertson  (AUS)(4)

1

Ricky Walden  (ENG)(56)

4

Note: w/d=withdrawn; w/o=walkover

Bottom half

Last 64 Best of 7 frames

Last 32 Best of 7 frames

Last 16 Best of 7 frames

Quarter-finals Best of 9 frames

Semi-finals Best of 11 frames

Zhao Xintong  (CHN)(3)

Gao Yang  (CHN)(73)

David Gilbert (32)

David Gilbert  (ENG)(32)

4

Oliver Sykes  (ENG)(100)

1

Ronnie O'Sullivan  (ENG)(15)

3

Cheung Ka Wai  (HKG)(106)

4

Cheung Ka Wai (106)

Stuart Bingham (19)

Stuart Bingham  (ENG)(19)

4

Yao Pengcheng  (CHN)(74)

2

Zhang Anda  (CHN)(18)

4

Liam Pullen  (ENG)(65)

2

Zhang Anda (18)

Mark Williams  (WAL)(10)

Robbie Williams  (ENG)(53)

Lei Peifan  (CHN)(25)

1

Luca Brecel  (BEL)(39)

4

Luca Brecel (39)

Martin O'Donnell (55)

Judd Trump  (ENG)(6)

3

Martin O'Donnell  (ENG)(55)

4

John Higgins  (SCO)(7)

4

Liam Highfield  (ENG)(68)

1

John Higgins (7)

Jak Jones (30)

Jak Jones  (WAL)(30)

4

Tom Ford  (ENG)(34)

1

Barry Hawkins  (ENG)(11)

2

Daniel Wells  (WAL)(50)

4

Daniel Wells (50)

Chang Bingyu  (CHN)(21)

Ryan Day  (WAL)(41)

Zhou Yuelong  (CHN)(17)

Michael Holt  (ENG)(47)

Mark Allen  (NIR)(14)

Jordan Brown  (NIR)(63)

Noppon Saengkham  (THA)(28)

T.Tirapongpaiboon  (THA)(108)

Scott Donaldson (64)

Wu Yize  (CHN)(2) [b]

w/d

Scott Donaldson  (SCO)(64)

w/o

Note: w/d=withdrawn; w/o=walkover

Qualifying rounds

The results of the qualifying matches are shown below. Numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the players' seeding, an "a" indicates amateur players who were not on the main World Snooker Tour, and players in bold denote match winners. ^[19]

	Round 1 (Last 128) Best of 7 frames				Round 2 (Last 96) Best of 7 frames
	Reanne Evans  (ENG)(82)	1			Liu Hongyu  (CHN)(54)	2
	Huang Jiahao  (CHN)(110)	4			Huang Jiahao  (CHN)(110)	4
	Connor Benzey  (ENG)(91)	1			Anthony McGill  (SCO)(38)	4
	Liu Yang (CHN)(118)	4			Liu Yang (CHN)(118)	1
	Liam Graham  (SCO)(86)	1			David Lilley  (ENG)(58)	1
	Wang Xinbo  (CHN)(104)	4			Wang Xinbo  (CHN)(104)	4
	Mateusz Baranowski  (POL)(84)	w/o			Yuan Sijun  (CHN)(33)	1
	Gong Chenzhi  (CHN)(111) [c]	n/s			Mateusz Baranowski  (POL)(84)	4
	Ross Muir  (SCO)(81)	4			Aaron Hill  (IRL)(37)	4
	Andrew Higginson  (ENG)(105)	1			Ross Muir  (SCO)(81)	3
	Iulian Boiko  (UKR)(71)	4			Ben Mertens  (BEL)(59)	4
	Luo Zetao  (CHN)(112)	3			Iulian Boiko  (UKR)(71)	0
	Fergal Quinn  (NIR)(94)	1			Jimmy Robertson  (ENG)(45)	1
	Alfie Burden  (ENG)(98)	4			Alfie Burden  (ENG)(98)	4
	Liam Davies  (WAL)(89)	4			Fan Zhengyi  (CHN)(52)	1
	Hammad Miah  (ENG)(102)	3			Liam Davies  (WAL)(89)	4
	Louis Heathcote  (ENG)(66)	4			Lyu Haotian  (CHN)(61)	2
	Craig Steadman  (ENG)(116)	2			Louis Heathcote  (ENG)(66)	4
	Oliver Brown  (ENG)(87)	1			Matthew Selt  (ENG)(46)	4
	Antoni Kowalski  (POL)(113)	4			Antoni Kowalski  (POL)(113)	0
	Sam Craigie  (ENG)(70)	4			Ishpreet Singh Chadha  (IND)(57)	1
	Anton Kazakov  (UKR)(115)	1			Sam Craigie  (ENG)(70)	4
	Jimmy White  (ENG)(96)	4			Xu Si  (CHN)(36)	4
	Sean O'Sullivan  (ENG)(114)	1			Jimmy White  (ENG)(96)	2
	Zhao Hanyang  (CHN)(80)	4			He Guoqiang  (CHN)(43)	4
	Mahmoud El Hareedy  (EGY)(107)	2			Zhao Hanyang  (CHN)(80)	3
	Xu Yichen  (CHN)(79)	4			Jamie Jones  (WAL)(60)	4
	Mina Awad (EGY)(126)	2			Xu Yichen  (CHN)(79)	2
	Marco Fu  (HKG)(69)	4			Matthew Stevens  (WAL)(48)	4
	Joel Connolly (NIR)(a)	0			Marco Fu  (HKG)(69)	1
	Ian Burns  (ENG)(75)	4			Ricky Walden  (ENG)(56)	4
	Stuart Carrington  (ENG)(120)	0			Ian Burns  (ENG)(75)	3

	Round 1 (Last 128) Best of 7 frames				Round 2 (Last 96) Best of 7 frames
	Gao Yang  (CHN)(73)	4			Long Zehuang  (CHN)(49)	2
	Panchaya Channoi  (THA)(124)	0			Gao Yang  (CHN)(73)	4
	Alexander Ursenbacher  (SUI)(90)	0			Zak Surety  (ENG)(42)	3
	Oliver Sykes  (ENG)(100)	4			Oliver Sykes  (ENG)(100)	4
	Artemijs Žižins  (LVA)(95)	3			Oliver Lines  (ENG)(51)	3
	Cheung Ka Wai  (HKG)(106)	4			Cheung Ka Wai  (HKG)(106)	4
	Yao Pengcheng  (CHN)(74)	4			Stan Moody  (ENG)(40)	0
	Bai Yulu  (CHN)(125)	1			Yao Pengcheng  (CHN)(74)	4
	Liam Pullen  (ENG)(65)	4			Ben Woollaston  (ENG)(44)	0
	Paul Norris  (ENG)(123)	0			Liam Pullen  (ENG)(65)	4
	Sahil Nayyar  (CAN)(92)	1			Robbie Williams  (ENG)(53)	4
	Michael Larkov  (UKR)(121)	4			Michael Larkov  (UKR)(121)	1
	Liu Wenwei  (CHN)(83)	3			Luca Brecel  (BEL)(39)	4
	Mitchell Mann  (ENG)(97)	4			Mitchell Mann  (ENG)(97)	1
	Chatchapong Nasa  (THA)(93)	4			Martin O'Donnell  (ENG)(55)	4
	Darragh Gallagher (NIR)(a)	1			Chatchapong Nasa  (THA)(93)	1
	Liam Highfield  (ENG)(68)	4			Jiang Jun  (CHN)(62)	1
	Phil O'Kane  (ENG)(119)	1			Liam Highfield  (ENG)(68)	4
	David Grace  (ENG)(76)	4			Tom Ford  (ENG)(34)	4
	Deng Haohui  (CHN)(117)	2			David Grace  (ENG)(76)	0
	Dylan Emery  (WAL)(67)	4			Daniel Wells  (WAL)(50)	4
	Jamie Clarke  (WAL)(101)	0			Dylan Emery  (WAL)(67)	0
	Lan Yuhao  (CHN)(78)	2			Ryan Day  (WAL)(41)	4
	Ashley Hugill  (ENG)(122)	4			Ashley Hugill  (ENG)(122)	2
	Florian Nüßle  (AUT)(88)	3			Michael Holt  (ENG)(47)	4
	Ng On-yee  (HKG)(103)	4			Ng On-yee  (HKG)(103)	0
	Michał Szubarczyk  (POL)(77)	1			Jordan Brown  (NIR)(63)	4
	Julien Leclercq  (BEL)(109)	4			Julien Leclercq  (BEL)(109)	0
	Steven Hallworth  (ENG)(72)	1			Jackson Page  (WAL)(35)	2
	T. Tirapongpaiboon  (THA)(108)	4			T. Tirapongpaiboon  (THA)(108)	4
	Leone Crowley  (IRL)(85)	4			Scott Donaldson  (SCO)(64)	4
	Ashley Carty  (ENG)(99)	1			Leone Crowley  (IRL)(85)	3

Note: n/s=no show; w/o=walkover

Century breaks

Main stage centuries

A total of 15 century breaks have been made during the main stage of the tournament in Belfast. ^[20]

• 138 – Ronnie O'Sullivan
• 121 – John Higgins
• 129, 110 – Sam Craigie
• 124, 106 – Joe O'Connor
• 111, 106, 104 – David Gilbert
• 110 – Zhang Anda
• 107 – Gary Wilson
• 106 – Daniel Wells
• 104 – Liam Davies
• 104 – Si Jiahui
• 101 – Thepchaiya Un-Nooh

Qualifying stage centuries

A total of 18 century breaks were made during the qualifying stage of the tournament in Leicester. ^[21]

• 138 – Julien Leclercq
• 134, 122 – Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon
• 123 – Cheung Ka Wai
• 121 – Ricky Walden
• 120 – Liam Pullen
• 117, 102 – Yao Pengcheng
• 111 – Liam Highfield
• 110 – Marco Fu
• 103, 100 – Xu Yichen
• 103 – Liam Davies
• 103 – Tom Ford
• 102 – Ryan Day
• 102 – Dylan Emery
• 102 – Wang Xinbo
• 100 – Jackson Page

Notes

1. He Guoqiang withdrew and so Elliot Slessor was given a walkover to the last 32. ^[17]
2. Wu Yize withdrew and so Scott Donaldson was given a walkover to the last 32. ^[17]
3. Gong Chenzhi did not show up for his match with Mateusz Baranowski and so Baranowski was given a walkover. ^[5]

References

1. Petrie, Richard (17 October 2024). "Northern Ireland Open: All you need to know about the 2024 tournament in Belfast". BBC Sport . Archived from the original on 4 November 2025. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
2. "Northern Ireland Open: Mark King ends 25-year wait for ranking title". BBC Sport . 20 November 2016. Archived from the original on 21 November 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
3. "Alex Higgins: NI trophy named after two-time world champion". BBC Sport . 27 September 2016. Archived from the original on 22 April 2026. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
4. "Tournaments 2025–26". World Snooker Tour . Archived from the original on 5 December 2025. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
5. "Northern Ireland Open Qualifiers 2026". snooker.org. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
6. "BetVictor Northern Ireland Open 2026". World Snooker Tour . Retrieved 29 April 2026.
7. "Calendar 2026/2027". snooker.org. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
8. Caulfield, David (19 May 2026). "2026/27 snooker season calendar released by WST". SnookerHQ. Archived from the original on 28 May 2026. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
9. "Lisowski wins maiden title in epic Belfast final". World Snooker Tour . 26 October 2025. Archived from the original on 11 December 2025. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
10. Petrie, Richard (17 October 2026). "Northern Ireland Open 2026 – all you need to know". BBC Sport . Retrieved 18 October 2026.
11. "Tiered format for Home Nations and German Masters in 2024/25". World Snooker Tour . 5 April 2024. Archived from the original on 5 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
12. "BetVictor Northern Ireland Open". snooker.org. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
13. "BetVictor Northern Ireland Open". World Snooker Tour . Retrieved 14 September 2026.
14. "BetVictor Northern Ireland Open qualifying day two". World Snooker Tour . 14 September 2026. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
15. "BetVictor Northern Ireland Open qualifiers day three". World Snooker Tour . 14 September 2026. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
16. "BetVictor Northern Ireland Open qualifiers day four". World Snooker Tour . 16 September 2026. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
17. "Wu and He withdraw from BetVictor Northern Ireland Open". World Snooker Tour . 16 October 2026. Retrieved 16 October 2026.
18. "BetVictor Northern Ireland Open 2026 matches". World Snooker Tour . Retrieved 17 September 2026.
19. "BetVictor Northern Ireland Open 2026 qualifiers matches". World Snooker Tour . 16 September 2026. Archived from the original on 18 September 2026. Retrieved 18 September 2026.
20. "Centuries: Northern Ireland Open – 8". snookerinfo.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2026.
21. "Centuries: Northern Ireland Open Qualifiers – 18". snookerinfo.co.uk. 16 September 2026. Archived from the original on 17 September 2026. Retrieved 17 September 2026.